Viscounty of the March
Overview
Located in the heart of Furyondy, the March is by far the most populous of Furyondy’s provinced, and a bread basket for the rest of the kingdom. Its fields are lush and the land is productive. Traditionally, the March’s merchants have been the trading experts of Furyondy. People here know and trust the value of what they are buying. This reflects the preoccupations of the ruling house. The March is ruled by the Viscount Luther Derwent, a clever and frugal leader. Luther is a grim faced and unsmiling man with a very sharp mind. Perhaps the wealthiest man in all of Furyondy, the Viscount guards his wealth carefully. He has made his fortune through trade, and the Derwent family together with a handful of other powerful, intermarried families own most of the land and wealth here. He has opposed the numerous taxes that Queen Francessa would impose and exerts considerable influence in the Noble Council in support of his views. Luther is a pragmatist, a tight-fisted man who is very adept at staving off Francessa's demands for more money. Luther’s second wife, the nervous and much younger Alistacea, is not someone to oppose her husband, although his twin sons Petronian and Timarn tend to favor the King – but they are young yet. Luther is not well liked by other nobles, but he is respected for his skill and coolness in even the most heated of court arguments. He loathes Baroness Josephine Kalinstren and is distrustful of the northern lords. His representative at Noble Council is the scribe Telemmand, an expert procrastinator who refuses to make any decisions until he has discussed matters fully with his dour, pragmatic liege. The March lies along many of the most well established supply routes and Derwent has judiciously invested in the maintenance of the road system. This province lies along on of the most important supply routes to the Shield Lands and the new route has served to greatly increase tax revenue and new settlers in the area. The March is also located on the most fertile soil in all of Furyondy. The province is an interesting mix of rich nobility and hard working farmers whose daily toils provide much of the wheat used throughout the Kingdom. Recently, the farmlands have failed to produce the usual bountiful crops. Blights have started to ruin entire harvest and the once bountiful harvests are starting to dwindle. Furyondians here are often apathetic and rather cowardly. There has been a slow migration away from the eastern fringe of the province and Luther is considering the use of convict labor, or forced service from peasants on his own lands to maintain the local farming industry. Luther has been skilled and efficient in building up defenses along the Veng from the base at Eyeberen. He has also begun construction of watchtowers and militia camps along the roadway from Brancast to Worlende(settlement), which coincides with his belief that the northern provinces aren’t worth holding if a war comes. A very unpopular attitude among the other nobles.
Type
Geopolitical, Viscounty
Capital
Leader
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Parent Organization
Comments